It’s around this time of year when students up and down the country have received their A level results and are looking forward to their big step up to university.
But how many will eschew uni for a career in the fenestration or construction industry? The short answer is, not nearly enough.
This year is said to be the second highest on record for teenagers hoping to start at university, despite the fees, living costs and previous government messaging about Mickey Mouse degrees.
Why are they so keen to go then? There’s the lifestyle, the opportunity to leave home, but also the numbers demonstrate that graduates are still better off in the long term – depending on what course you choose.
Figures show that 87.7% of working age graduates were employed in 2023 with an average salary of £40,000, compared to 69.7% of non-graduates who are more likely to earn an average of £29,500.
Analysis shows that a higher proportion of vacancies require a degree (94% in public sector) and 40% of graduate jobs required a specific degree to apply.
All this comes at a time when the construction industry alone is estimating that it needs an additional 251,500 workers by 2028 in order to build all the new houses that Labour has promised.
And it’s not as if all young people in the UK are heading for higher education, because according to reports, the country is now home to around 900,000 Neets – which stands for ‘not in employment, education or training’.
Perhaps it’s this ‘lost’ demographic that could be engaged with and trained up to be the next generation of installers, fabricators and glaziers.
The debate about skills is not new, and there have been some positive steps forward recently with initiatives such as Building Our Skills and from the GGF, but we are still some way off from being able to confidently say that we have closed the skills gap.
Skills will also be one of the key topics at the Glass Conference – scheduled for 16-17th October at Telford International Centre – which has recently announced the support of another leading industry name thanks to sponsorship from ODL Europe.
For more information and to book tickets, visit www.glassconference.co.uk
How many A level students will join the fenestration industry?
It’s around this time of year when students up and down the country have received their A level results and are looking forward to their big step up to university.
But how many will eschew uni for a career in the fenestration or construction industry? The short answer is, not nearly enough.
This year is said to be the second highest on record for teenagers hoping to start at university, despite the fees, living costs and previous government messaging about Mickey Mouse degrees.
Why are they so keen to go then? There’s the lifestyle, the opportunity to leave home, but also the numbers demonstrate that graduates are still better off in the long term – depending on what course you choose.
Figures show that 87.7% of working age graduates were employed in 2023 with an average salary of £40,000, compared to 69.7% of non-graduates who are more likely to earn an average of £29,500.
Analysis shows that a higher proportion of vacancies require a degree (94% in public sector) and 40% of graduate jobs required a specific degree to apply.
All this comes at a time when the construction industry alone is estimating that it needs an additional 251,500 workers by 2028 in order to build all the new houses that Labour has promised.
And it’s not as if all young people in the UK are heading for higher education, because according to reports, the country is now home to around 900,000 Neets – which stands for ‘not in employment, education or training’.
Perhaps it’s this ‘lost’ demographic that could be engaged with and trained up to be the next generation of installers, fabricators and glaziers.
The debate about skills is not new, and there have been some positive steps forward recently with initiatives such as Building Our Skills and from the GGF, but we are still some way off from being able to confidently say that we have closed the skills gap.
Skills will also be one of the key topics at the Glass Conference – scheduled for 16-17th October at Telford International Centre – which has recently announced the support of another leading industry name thanks to sponsorship from ODL Europe.
For more information and to book tickets, visit www.glassconference.co.uk
Glass Times
Related Articles
A shock to the system
Lights, camera, action for Gerda
Blocked Straight, open wallet (maybe)